Where do we go from here?
by The Kraken
Summary: The new forest needs new gods to protect it, but first those beings that are chosen must lay to rest the last of the old gods before the forest can truly be made new again. (Rated for Violence, Sexual Innuendo)


Where do we go from here? - By the Kraken

Disclaimers: The usual sort of junk. Princess Mononoke and all affiliated items are not mine, they belong to... Oh, who cares anyway? They're not mine, 'nuff said.

Warnings: Some graphic violence, some sexual innuendo, nothing that a mature person (or an aged but still proudly immature person) can't handle.

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**Where do we go from here?**

Toki wiped her face with her sleeve. It was hard work, rebuilding the foundry, but that hadn't stopped the girls from joining in. In fact, they had insisted on joining in and had done so over the men's protests. With the girls' help, the foundry was now nearly complete, and the men had left to work on other projects while the girls put the finishing touches on.

She looked up to see the final roof materials being hoisted up to the girls above using a pulley. Toki smiled, it was the girls' foundry, so it made sense for the girls to build it. Only one man had stayed, and he was the one currently lifting the materials up. Single handedly.

"Hey, Ashitaka!" Toki called out to him. "That's the last load. You can go when you're done with it, we'll take it from here."

"If you're sure that you'll be fine, then I guess that there's no reason for me to impose on you girls any longer."

"We'll be fine, don't you worry." Toki replied, hiding her mirth.

Ashitaka was, in his own way, just as infuriating as all the other men in Iron Town. He treated the girls as if they were not nearly as tough as the guys, although it was more of a general sort of concern for their safety than any sort of real chauvinism. He was also completely blind to how much the girls liked him. _No reason for me to impose on you girls_ he had said, oblivious to the fact that most of the girls would suffer any kind of imposition just to see his gorgeous face around the place. _Oh well, enough thinking,_ Toki thought, _I've got work to do._

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Gonza watched Ashitaka walk out of the nearly-complete foundry. The boy, after living with them for six months, still wore the same clothes and still stood out like a thumb amongst the more traditionally garbed Iron Town men. The girls had even made him a spare shirt that was identical to his original one. Gonza shook his head, it was disgraceful how much the girls doted on him, even to the point of doing his laundry for him without being asked to.

A hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up into Ashitaka's smiling face.

"You're not here to think Gonza, so stop trying to do it." the impudent boy said. "Anyway, it's time for my lesson."

Gonza rolled his eyes. Now that Lady Eboshi had lost her right arm, she needed a champion to defend her and her honour, and the entire town had been unanimous in choosing Ashitaka rather than Gonza. Although the boy was a formidable warrior with his short sword and bow, he didn't know how to use any bigger weapons, and so Gonza had to teach him how to. The lessons usually ended in Gonza getting knocked to the ground, and Ashitaka was an incredibly fast learner. He was also incredibly strong, almost as if he were still touched by the curse. He never took off his arm protectors, so there was no way of seeing if the mark was still there, and to ask him to do so would have been tactless beyond measure.

Still, Gonza would have given anything to know how the little guy could drag a stubborn ox right across the town square, which he had done once when Karoko had lost control of the ox he was supposed to be driving. Right now though, Ashitaka was drawing his katana. The katana had originally belonged to Lady Eboshi, but since she couldn't use it anymore she had given it to Ashitaka when he had been chosen as her champion.

"Alright, go easy on the instructor now, understood?" Gonza called as he leveled his own katana, opting not to use the bigger nodachi, given that Ashitaka would just laugh at him and dodge the huge swings of the big blade.

As it was, Ashitaka laughed anyway before assuming a fighting stance. Gonza attacked, slashing low, only to be blocked. He tried to stab at Ashitaka's chest, but the boy deflected the blade out wide and it was all that Gonza could do to avoid having his arm cut off by the ensuing counter-attack.

Lady Eboshi watched the only two warriors left in Iron Town fight. All of Jigo's riflemen had accompanied their master back to wherever it was that the damned monk had run off to after the whole incident with the spirit god. While Gonza's pride may have been hurt a little bit when Ashitaka was chosen to be her champion, and while Ashitaka himself might have preferred not to have been bothered by the whole issue, Ashitaka was clearly the best choice. He was unquestionably faster, smarter, and stronger than Gonza, and the gap widened between their performances only widened as Ashitaka became more and more skilled.

The only weapon that Ashitaka refused to touch was the rifle. He never said it, but he blamed the rifles for all the mess that the humans had caused, and Lady Eboshi couldn't really blame him for thinking that way. Besides which, he could still shoot arrows strongly enough to punch through anything but heavy armour.

"Ashitaka," she called out, "you can stop pummeling poor Gonza, I need to talk to both of you."

"I'll be right there." Ashitaka replied. He then twisted his sword suddenly and sent Gonza's sword flying to land in the dirt halfway across the square. "There, we're done now. Come on Gonza, let's see what the Lady has to say."

Gonza grudgingly followed his "pupil" over to where Lady Eboshi stood waiting. Something was obviously worrying her, and both men wondered what it could be. She didn't keep them in suspense for long.

"I've just received reports that Lord Isano has put his troops back together and has come to reclaim Iron Town. With no soldiers but you two, we're in pretty dire straits. I know that everyone can handle spears and guns well enough to defend the town, but he'll be able to besiege us and starve us into submission if all we can do is defend."

They both thought over the dilemma for a minute. Then Ashitaka seemed to come to a decision.

"I'll handle this." he said simply. "Don't worry any more about it, Lady Eboshi. I'll leave tomorrow, and I should be back within a week."

Lady Eboshi nodded, then motioned for Gonza to come with her. She needed to look over the progress on the construction of the docks. One of Ashitaka's suggestions was to use the river as well as the mountain trails as trade routes, so that was why most of the men were right now down at the river front pretending to work. Men never changed, Lady Eboshi reflected, but as long as the some work on the dock got done she didn't complain.

Too much.

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The Kodama were excited about something, San reflected. They had been going back and forth for the last hour, shaking their heads happily. In the old days they would have only been that happy at the return of the Forest Spirit or one of his Gods, but nowadays they seemed to do that every time Ashitaka came from Iron Town to see her. The implications of that were slightly disturbing, and San didn't really want to explore what they might mean.

Her suspicions about Ashitaka's presence in the forest were confirmed when Marik, the eldest of her wolven brothers ran up to her and nuzzled her.

"He's here." Marik said.

Sure enough, a minute later Yakkul came trotting into the clearing, Ashitaka on his back. Nowadays he wore a katana on his left side, and his old short sword on his right, but he looked essentially the same as when he first came to this forest six months ago. He was smiling now at the sight of her, and he hopped down from Yakkul's back to give her a brief hug. She had learned that this was his way of nuzzling her, so she put up with it and hugged him back.

"Thanks for showing me the way Marik." he said to the wolf. Then, to her he said, "It's good to see you again San."

"And you too, Ashitaka." she replied. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"That would be great."

As they walked around the pool that used to be the Great Forest Spirit's home, Ashitaka asked her,

"San, has there been a large group of humans moving around near here?"

"Yes, but they've kept largely to the plains, and they stink worse than your rotten town does, so I kept clear of them."

"Good. Could you show me where they are tomorrow?"

"Why not today?"

"Because I'd rather spend today walking... with you" he said with a smile.

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"Watch out!" came the cry as a tree fell. The samurai tried to avoid the forest out of fear for the Great Forest Spirit, even though it was widely known that he had been killed by Lady Eboshi six months ago, but they still had to cut down the occasional tree in order to get firewood. The supervisor came up to the men who were working and gave them some further instructions.

"Alright, that's nearly all that we need. Just cut down a couple more trees and we're done for the day."

"I don't think that that's wise." came a voice from the bush, startling everybody. They all turned to stare at a young man emerging from the underbrush, a katana at one side of his belt and a short sword at the other. He smiled patiently at them. "You already have more than enough to keep you warm for tonight. Why don't you just leave the forest alone?"

"And who are you to order around the samurai of Lord Isano?" the supervisor demanded imperiously. "Do you think that you're the forest's protector or something?"

"Perhaps." the young man replied enigmatically.

"Harumph! Get lost boy, before we're forced to hurt you." sneered the supervisor. To the workers he said, "You lot! Why have you stopped? Get cutting!"

The workers obliged and picked up their saws. But before the first two pairs could put their saws to the trees' trunks, the saw blades were blocked by the swords of the boy, who seemed able to hold off four grown men effortlessly. The supervisor snarled and drew his katana.

"You were warned!" he screamed as he charged at the exposed boy.

In a motion too quick for anyone to follow, the boy brought his own katana over in a deadly slash. The supervisor fell back, screaming and clutching at the ruined remains of his sword arm. About halfway up the forearm the arm ceased to exist, leaving a bloody and open stump.

"Was it I who was warned, or was it rather you who was warned?" the boy asked mockingly. He looked at the workers, frozen and with their saws still in their hands. "Drop those." They did without question, so great was their sudden fear of this boy. "Now be gone from this place, and don't let me catch you defiling the forest again." They turned to run, but a further comment from the boy stopped them momentarily. "Oh, and tell Lord Isano that if I find him causing trouble near Iron Town I shall be forced to cut him into pieces and feed him to the beasts. Make sure that you tell him that, understood?"

A chorus of "Yes, sir!" and "Of course, noble lord!" was quickly extracted before the terrified workers fled, taking their maimed supervisor with them. The boy stared at the discarded saws for a moment, thinking to himself. Another voice from the bush interrupted those thoughts.

"I would have killed him." San said, stepping out into the open. "Someone as stupid as that doesn't deserve to be shown mercy."

"I know you would have killed him," Ashitaka answered. "That's why I took care of this by myself."

"I noticed that the forest wasn't your only concern."

"It's my duty to protect both my homes. What I did should scare the greedy thief away for quite a while. Now, what do you say we go back to the deep forest for a couple of days?"

"It sounds good to me. I'll race you there."

And with that, the two of them ran off through the woods, as swift and fleet of foot as any elk or wolf.

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A couple of days later, Ashitaka found himself alone in the glade of the Great Forest Spirit and, remembering the first time he came here, decided to swim out to the island in the middle of the pond. Once there, he stared up at the great old tree that had stood there even through the destruction caused by the rampage of the headless Night Walker. Smiling, Ashitaka removed his shirt and arm coverings. He looked at the grey marks that covered his right arm, like innocuous shadows of the cursed mark that had nearly eaten him alive. Still smiling, he rested his bare palms against the rough surface of the dead bark.

"O great tree, why do you still stand so tall, and yet are without life?" he asked, slightly amused at the old tree's stubbornness. He was very shocked though when a sudden awareness filled his mind.

_Not Dead. Sleeping. Hidden._

Thoughts not his own flashed in his head, showing him words and images hard to understand. He tried to make sense of it by asking the tree,

"What is happening? Are you speaking to me?"

_Souls Touching. Sharing._

Ashitaka nodded, that cleared up a lot of questions. He decided to ask about the tree's original statement.

"What do you mean by sleeping or hidden?"

_Incomplete Forest. New Forest Needs New Gods. No New Gods With Old Gods._

"But all of the old gods are dead and gone!"

_Dead. Not Gone. Hate Still Binds One._

"Nago! If that's so, what must be done to release his hate?

_Put Him To Rest._

"And then what?" Ashitaka asked, but the tree didn't answer. "Then what?" he repeated in vain.

The strange awareness withdrew, leaving Ashitaka's question unanswered. He turned from the tree and stopped cold. There, not two feet from him, was the transparent image of the Great Forest Spirit. The image smiled, then faded.

"I understand, great tree, I understand." he said to the great wooden form. Then, he swam back to the shore. He had a journey to make.

********************************************************************************** 

"You're leaving?" Lady Eboshi asked. "But why?"

"I have to finish what I started six months ago." Ashitaka replied, packing the last of his meager possessions into Yakkul's saddle packs.

"But you can't leave!" Gonza protested. "You're Lady Eboshi's champion!"

"Look, I already told you that I took care of Lord Isano. If, for some strange reason, he does decide to come back, then I'm quite sure that you have enough rifles and spears to hold him off until I return. Besides which, the wolves will be on your side, since you haven't torn up the forest recently and Lord Isano's men have."

"How long will you be gone for?" Lady Eboshi pressed.

"Two, three weeks." Ashitaka estimated. "A month at the most. I'll try to be as quick as possible."

"Then we wish you luck." Lady Eboshi said, more to cut off any further protest from Gonza than from any concern for Ashitaka. She knew that the boy was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Everyone turned out to see Ashitaka off. He smiled at them all and assured them that he would be back as soon as possible. Then, he mounted Yakkul and rode out through the gate. Only after he disappeared in the distance did everyone reluctantly set about doing their daily work.

********************************************************************************** 

"And where do you think that you're going?" San asked Ashitaka.

She was perched on top of a rock overlooking the path that Ashitaka was taking. He looked up at her and answered,

"I'm going to Nago's death site. I believe that I need to release his spirit from the hatred that binds it in order to bring back the Great Forest Spirit."

"And you think that you can do it alone? You'll need the help of someone who _really_ knows the ways of the forest if you want to try that. Besides, look what I made for you."

So saying, she jumped down onto the trail and proffered a large fur cloak. Like hers, it was made out of wolf skin, although this cloak was as big as his old straw one. It was marvelous, and Ashitaka knew that it was tough enough to protect him from both the weather and from attack.

"It's great!" he said, putting it on. "Why did you make this?"

"Well, my brothers felt that if you were going to run with us wolves, then you should at least have a wolf's fur."

"Your brothers are great. I think that they like me."

"They like the fact that you're the only person besides myself who talks to them."

"Whatever. Shall we get going?"

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"What would make Ashitaka want to leave Iron Town after all of this time?" Jigo asked himself. "And on top of that, it looks like he's retracing the path that brought him there. He must be going back to his home. But if I remember anything about the Emishi tribe, he will have been banished from the tribe and forbidden to return. They didn't like having cursed people around. Therefore, it has to be some sort of quest for the forest. Maybe I can still find a way for the Emperor to achieve immortality. Now that would be interesting."

Finishing his little monologue, the little monk gathered up his troops and addressed them.

"Alright guys. We're going to follow those two kids and see where they lead us. If my suspicions are correct, then we'll get another chance to find a way to grant immortality to the Emperor. If those suspicions are wrong, then we'll merely find new lands for the Emperor, who will reward us anyway. So... Let's get going!"

He finished his speech by dashing off down the road. His whole bunch of profiteering gluttons picked up their feet and ran after him, determined to get their shares of the promised rewards.

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After about a week's travel, the scenery changed completely. The forests were now plentiful and undisturbed, just like they had been long ago in the west Ashitaka informed San that they were now in the far east, a land nearly uninhabited by humans. They knew that they were being followed, but their trailers were good enough not to reveal themselves, and Ashitaka didn't really feel like confronting them. A couple more days brought them to a large break in the woods, surrounded by a low stone wall. Ashitaka turned to Yakkul and removed his harness and saddlebags.

"You're free to roam around for a bit," he told the red elk. "just don't be seen by the watchmen."

The elk nuzzled its friend, then bounded off into the forest. Ashitaka turned to San.

"Look over there." He whispered, pointing. "You see that watch tower?" San nodded. "They've seen something moving in the woods, but they don't know what it is. We're going to bury the saddle and bags here, hiding them, and then we'll reveal ourselves."

********************************************************************************** 

San didn't understand the need for all the secrecy, but then again human customs could be very strange, so she just went along with whatever Ashitaka suggested unless her instincts told her otherwise.

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Kaya and her friends were visiting with Jousan when he saw something move in the forest. The animals were acting as if nothing were amiss, so it probably wasn't dangerous, but it was much better to be safe than sorry. A few minutes later, two people walked out of the forest. They were too far away to see any features, but it looked as if one was a boy and the other a girl. Both of them wore white fur cloaks, and they seemed to know exactly what they were doing. They reached the communication trench and walked along it towards the village.

"Girls," Jousan ordered. "quickly go to the village and warn them that two strangers are on their way. Go!"

The girls scurried off, leaving Jousan alone to worry. How had the strangers known where the trench was, or the village for that matter? The Emishi survived by remaining hidden, and strangers knowing their way around the Emishi lands was a dangerous prospect.

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The girls reached the village before the strangers and alerted the wise woman. As everyone was assembling, the mischievous girls decided to go see what the strangers were up to and so sneaked back out of the village. They found the strangers examining the mound built over the carcass of the demon boar, with their backs to the village. Nothing ever grew on the mound, and the villagers didn't need their wise woman to tell them that the demon's hate was still infecting whatever it touched, the dead earth was sign enough of that.

At the sound of the girls' approach, the female stranger turned. Kaya noticed how her big earrings chimed when she moved suddenly. The male didn't turn, and instead knelt down on his haunches to better examine the mound, further concealing himself from inspection. The female was, on closer inspection, a teenaged girl, with red markings on her face and a circlet holding her hair away from her face. The earrings were simply one of many pieces of odd jewelry that she wore, such as a necklace of wolves' teeth for example. She also appeared to be mildly hostile towards the girls, but that didn't faze them.

"Hi!" Kaya called. "I'm Kaya. What do you want here? You know, a demon lies under that mound. That's why nothing grows there."

"Yes, we know that." The strange girl replied shortly. "That's why we're here."

The male, who up until that point had remained silent, spoke up now.

"San, go with them to the village and assure them that we mean them no harm." The girl who he had called San looked distinctly unpleased at that request and was about to protest when he cut her off. "Just do it, please? And try to be nice. These people try to live in harmony with the forest. They're not our enemies."

"Fine." San said reluctantly. She then turned to the three girls. "Kaya, was it?" Kaya nodded. "Good, then lead the way."

As the four girls left the site of the mound, it occurred to Kaya that the man's voice sounded incredibly familiar. Too bad his cloak had completely hidden what he was wearing underneath, she didn't even know if he was armed.

San, for her part, had noticed that Kaya's short sword was identical to Ashitaka's, and how her clothes seemed similar to Ashitaka's as well. And when she reached the village and saw that the arrows had stone heads and that there were great big red elk wandering around, she knew where she was. She was in Ashitaka's home. But why hadn't he wanted to come and speak to them himself? She shook her head, human customs were completely unfathomable. It was a wonder that their head didn't explode from sheer confusion.

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The wise woman was distinctly unhappy that the girls had gone out on their own to see the strangers, but was slightly relieved to see that the stranger meant them no harm. The strange girl introduced herself.

"Greetings. My name is San." She paused for a minute, as if deciding what to say, then continued. "My friend and I have journeyed from far in the west to meet with the spirit of Nago, whose body lies under that dead mound. We mean you no harm and will be on our way as soon as we are finished here."

The wise woman considered this. Her recent auguries had foretold that the dead would move around the village, so she decided to question San further.

"And what will you do with the spirit of the dead Boar Lord?"

"We will attempt to put it at peace."

That sounded reasonable enough. The wise woman would welcome any way of ridding the ground around their village of the demon's blighting curse.

"One more question," the wise woman said. "Why didn't your friend come down to meet us too?"

San scowled, how was she supposed to answer that question? Ashitaka's ways were as mysterious to her as hers were to him, and so how was she expected to come up with something plausibe? To further annoy her, that Kaya girl spoke up now.

"Actually, he told her to come down here. She didn't want to come and meet us."

San whipped her head around and snarled like a wolf at Kaya. As she did so, another piece of jewelry became visible, a small crystal knife on a leather thong. The wise woman stared at it, then looked sharply at Kaya.

"I thought, Kaya, that you said that you lost your crystal knife." She said pointedly.

Kaya looked up from staring at the knife to timidly meet the hard stares of the wise woman and the elders.

"I... I gave it to my brother, when he left." She stammered, before realizing what this implied. "Ashitaka!" she said suddenly. "That was Ashitaka's voice!"

And before anyone could stop her she was racing back up to the mound. The rest of the village followed, all to San's annoyance. Muttering to herself about the strange ways of humans she raced up the hill too, quickly outpacing everyone but Kaya, who had quite the head start on the rest of them.

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When the girls left, Ashitaka started to strip his top half. Leaving his cloak, shirt, arm covers, bow, and quiver in a pile, He walked right up to the mound and placed his hands upon it. Like with the wise tree, he felt a contact with another presence, but this time the presence was raging and poisonous.

_Filth. Defiler._

"No, Nago. I protect the forest." Ashitaka replied.

_Human._

"I know that humans have damaged the forest, but now we seek to protect it."

_Gods Protect._

"All of the old gods are dead, Nago. And there can be no new gods until the old gods leave this world."

_Hate. Lady. You._

"Yes, I know, but Lady Eboshi has paid for the damage she caused. Moro of the wolves bit her arm off. As for me, the Great Forest Spirit removed the curse that you put on me for killing you. I was forgiven."

The spirit presence seemed to struggle with that for a bit, then calmed considerably.

_Here Bad. Rest In Forest._

"Will that put you at peace?"

_Yes._

"Very well then. I shall grant your last request." Ashitaka said, and the presence withdrew.

********************************************************************************** 

Kaya could clearly see the other stranger now, as he had stripped down to the waist. The clothes and bow in the pile were definitely her brother's. Although he wore a katana at his left side, she could see that the short sword at his right was of Emishi make. However, her elation at recognizing her brother quickly turned to horror when she realized what he was doing. He had both hands touching the poisoned mound.

Before she could scream out in horror, he drew back his hands, to her temporary relief. Relief that was shattered when he plunged both hands deep into the mound. He heaved mightily, and pulled out the skeleton of the boar demon. Holding it high above his head, he began to run for the forest. About halfway there he suddenly hurled the skeleton through the air. It curved in a high arc and landed with a great crash deep within the forest. A booming voice sounded out then.

**"Now I may rest. You have my thanks, now protect the forest well, new gods."**

One of the villagers, who had merely joined in the rush, not knowing the reason for the rush or who this strange boy was, saw this display of strength and was appalled.

"Demon!" he screamed, and let fly an arrow.

"No!" Kaya screamed in vain. The arrow was flying in a deadly path towards the boy's, her brother's, back.

Ashitaka turned quickly and caught the arrow in mid-flight. Everyone except San was amazed. He had moved so quickly, that many of them didn't realize immediately what had happened. He stood there for a minute, examining the arrow, then walked deliberately back towards his discarded clothes. San drew her dagger and leapt at the man who had fired the shot, knocking down a couple of villagers who stood in her way. Before she could cut his heart out though, Ashitaka intervened.

"San! No!" He yelled. She paused, knife poised over the poor man's chest. Ashitaka explained to her, "He didn't know about my strength, or why I was here. He is an innocent, let him live."

"You're far too merciful." she snarled, but stepped away from the man anyway.

The villagers who she had knocked down were getting back to their feet. They eyed San nervously, she had, after all, knocked them out of the way as if they were mere twigs. The wise woman walked over to near Ashitaka, looking for an explanation.

"I am dead to you." he said simply. "For you, the curse killed me." He said, and held up the right hand, where the light grey patches served as reminders of the darker marks that had once festered there. "But the Great Forest Spirit gave me new life."

San now understood why Ashitaka had left his village, and why he was reluctant to make his presence known when he returned. The villagers didn't want someone who was demon-cursed in their village, and so Ashitaka had been forced to go. Distasteful, but understandable.

The remains of the mound where Nago's body had once lain were already starting to green over. The wise woman looked from the mound to Ashitaka, pensive.

"Do you need anything before you leave us again, Prince Ashitaka?"

Kaya and San were shocked, albeit for very different reasons. Kaya couldn't believe that the wise woman would be callous enough to send Ashitaka away again, when he was obviously cured of the curse. San couldn't believe that humble and caring Ashitaka was actually a prince of the generally arrogant and insensitive humans. Ashitaka merely smiled and said,

"Actually, I could do with more arrows." He paused, cocked his head, then continued, "But first there is something I have to do. If you'll excuse me for a minute?"

Before they could stop him he turned and sprinted into the trees. San smelled it a moment later. Iron and Black Powder, coming from the forest. She sprinted in after him. No one followed them, they were all too confused about what had got the two of them in such a fuss.

********************************************************************************** 

Jigo had watched Ashitaka communicating with the sick mound, then pull out and throw the body of the giant boar. He had suspected that that was why Ashitaka had returned home, and his suspicions were currently vindicated. He and his men had snuck over to where the skeleton had landed and shattered.

"Alright men, this is pay dirt. Gather up as much of it as you can in a couple of bags and then let's get out of here."

"Don't bother. His spirit is at rest and his corpse is useless to you." Ashitaka's voice rang out through the clearing.

Jigo whirled around to see the boy emerge from the woods. He noticed that the boy moved differently now, more like a hunter who is sure of the kill and feels no need to worry. The swords at his waist were still sheathed though, and Jigo was deadly enough to be able to handle him barehanded.

"Oh come on now, boy. Even if it is useless, it's so big that the Emperor will pay a fortune for the remains. So come on. You know that you're no match for all of us."

"Am I not?" Ashitaka asked.

Jigo frowned, and in that instant the boy sprang forward. Jigo tried to deflect Ashitaka's grasping hand, but he might as well have been slapping a steel rod for all the good it did. The hand gripped Jigo under the neck and held him dangling above the ground, at arm's length from Ashitaka. Ashitaka examined his catch and laughed.

"I've learned a lot since we last met." He then looked at the rest of Jigo's band. "Give it up. I can pop his head off just by squeezing, and if his death doesn't stop you, then I'll do the same to you."

The men looked extremely nervous and started to back away from Ashitaka, only to hear a voice behind them say,

"And if he doesn't get you, rest assured that I will."

They whirled around to see San, her knife in one hand and her spear in the other. Realizing that they had lost, Jigo spoke up.

"Hey now, let's not be too hasty. Did I say take the skeleton? What was I thinking? I was obviously not myself, maybe you should just let me go, and I'll make sure we get out of here really quickly. What do you say boy?"

Ashitaka dropped him. As he scrambled back to his feet, Ashitaka warned him,

"By the way, did you know that what one Kodama knows, every Kodama knows? I can speak to them, and if they tell me that large numbers of strangers have made their way here and are destroying things, I shall hold you to blame. I will hunt you down, and when I find you I will break off your arm and use it to bludgeon you to death." He turned to the rest of the cowering men. "And that goes for the lot of you. Now, have a nice trip back west. Don't let us detain you any further."

The speed that Jigo's goons ran off at could have rivaled Ashitaka or San, so desperate were they to get away. Jigo himself dallied for a moment, and asked Ashitaka one last question.

"Tell me," he said. "now that Nago, Otoko, and Moro are all dead, who protects the forest? Who are the gods? The creatures able to communicate with all other creatures?"

It was a rhetorical question, and both men knew the answer. Ashitaka still answered with a puzzler of his own.

"What if the forest spirit decided to turn his greatest enemy into his greatest ally? What could challenge him then?"

Jigo nodded.

"Take care, boy. Oh, and I'd hurry back to Iron Town. Isano's a greedy bastard, and bullying his underlings won't keep him back for long. Well, see ya!"

And with that he ran off after his men. As Ashitaka and San headed back to the Emishi village, San turned to Ashitaka and asked him a question of her own.

"Where did you learn to threaten like that?"

Ashitaka laughed.

"Iron Town. You should hear Toki when she finds Karoko slacking off!"

********************************************************************************** 

Kaya hugged her brother goodbye.

"I still don't understand why you have to leave." she whined.

"This is no longer my home. But I'll never forget you, don't you worry." he explained and consoled.

Kaya gave Ashitaka one last squeeze, then turned to San.

"You take care of my brother, understand?"

San nearly laughed.

"He's so clumsy it seems that I'm always nursing him back to health!"

They all laughed at that. Then, when the good-byes were over, Ashitaka, San, and Yakkul all ran off into the forest, heading home.

********************************************************************************** 

Lord Isano looked over at the besieged island. If his information was correct, he had been lucky enough to catch them at a time when their food stocks were low. It was now just a waiting game, for sooner or later that stubborn bitch Eboshi would have to come to the bargaining table, and on his terms too. Isano was currently a very happy man.

The only thing that he was worried about was the forest. He knew all about the wolf-girl and the wolves and other protectors of the forest, but this recent addition of a young boy scaring away his loggers didn't fit any of the stories or rumours that Lord Isano or any of his advisors knew about. There was no denying that one of the supervisors had had his hand cut off, but whether it was just some passing warrior who happened to be somewhat annoyed, or whether the boy was another one of the forest's protectors was still a matter of debate. Isano didn't really care, as long as the boy never came between himself and Iron Town.

At the current moment, Lord Isano was waiting with most of his retinue within sight, but well out of accurate rifle range, of Iron Town's gates. He was watching one of his messengers deliver his latest demand for surrender. The defenders would usually try to shoot the messenger in a show of defiance, but they were such bad shots that they had only killed one horse so far. None of the messengers had even been scratched. He was therefore very surprised when an arrow shot out of the forest and decapitated the current messenger. To add to his surprise, the arrow had almost no arc, it merely sliced straight through the air and the poor man's neck in a straight line.

"Lord Isano! Look there!" one of his men shouted, pointing to the forest edge.

Several figures emerged from the forest line. A couple of wolves, an elk, and two people clad in wolf skins.

"Can we shoot them?" Lord Isano asked his chief archer.

"No, they're way too far away. If we are lucky, we'll be able to land a couple shots near them, but if anything actually hits them it would be an act of the gods."

"I see. Well then..."

He trailed off as he saw the bigger of the humans raise a bow and fire. The shot burrowed itself so deeply into the chest of one of Lord Isano's bodyguards that the back plates were buckled outwards. A second shot decapitated the advisor standing just to Lord Isano's right, spraying him with blood.

"Lord Isano!" a young man's voice cried out. Lord Isano looked over and saw that the mysterious archer was somehow able to make his voice carry across this distance. The archer continued, "Lord Isano! Here me now! You were warned not to return to this area to cause trouble. You have chosen to ignore that warning, and now it is the time of reckoning!"

As the import of what the archer had said sunk in, he let fly a third arrow. Lord Isano ducked and was rewarded for his dodging ability when his helmet was ripped from his head and was thrown into the man behind, who clutched at the arrow protruding from his chest, with Lord Isano's helmet dangling on the arrow's shaft. It appeared that the stories about this young man who came from the forest didn't do his strength justice.

********************************************************************************** 

Ashitaka let fly one last arrow, then unstrung his bow and slung it into its sheath at his back, drawing his swords. He turned to Yakkul and told him to head for Iron Town, then he turned to San and the wolves and grinned in anticipation. Together they all charged the Lord's retinue.

"He's mine!" Ashitaka cried out to his comrades, making sure that they knew to leave Lord Isano for him.

They reached the first of the bodyguards, and San hurled her spear like a javelin through the chest of one man. It passed clean through his body and stuck into the ground behind him, where San promptly retrieved it from. Ashitaka was a whirling dervish, slicing off body parts with every stroke. The wolves were just as deadly, for even if a guard's armour miraculously held against their attacks, he would be knocked flying and would probably break something vital when he landed again. Ashitaka spotted Lord Isano in the middle of knot of especially tough-looking guards. _Gotcha!_ he thought, and began to wade his way through the guards towards the condemned noble.

********************************************************************************** 

Normally the citizens of Iron Town wouldn't have opened their gates in the middle of a siege just to let an elk in, but it seemed that the enemy had much bigger problems to deal with now. Such as four rampaging forest creatures destroying their commanders.

"Was that Ashitaka and the wolf girl?" Gonza asked in disbelief, surveying the situation. "They ran as fast as the wolves!"

"That shouldn't be much of a surprise." Lady Eboshi said. "I've long suspected that Ashitaka was given great powers when the Great Forest Spirit cured him of that wretched curse, and we've always known that Princess Mononoke had the strength and speed of the wolves that she lives with."

"Uh, yeah. When you put it that way..." Gonza stammered.

"You're such an idiot Gonza!" one of the women said, much to his further embarrassment.

********************************************************************************** 

When Lord Isano saw the boy walking purposefully towards him he nearly panicked. Then he realized that his best guards were around him. They would surely be able to stop this rampaging warrior. His conviction was shaken when the boy swung his katana in a backhanded arc and sliced off the head and arm of one of those elite bodyguards. Further slashes and stabs killed off or maimed the larger portion of the rest of the men who launched themselves at the boy.

The boy stopped a few feet in front of Lord Isano. He sized up the shaken noble before introducing himself.

"My name is Ashitaka. I am the protector of the forest, which you defiled on your march here. I am also the champion of Lady Eboshi, mistress of Iron Town and Clan Tatara, whose lands you have invaded." As he spoke, one of the guards crept up behind him, but before the man could strike, Ashitaka whirled in a roundhouse kick which connected with the man's head. The head was knocked 180 degrees around with a sickening crack, and so the man landed face first, but on his back. After studying the corpse for a moment, Ashitaka turned back to Lord Isano. "Where was I? Oh yes, at the explanation of why you must die to expiate your sins. I really am sickened by your greed, your lands were rich enough to support you generously, but still you coveted the iron of the Tatara lands. Men like you can only be taught one way."

And so saying, Ashitaka advanced upon Lord Isano, who brandished his sword in an attempt to stave him off. Ashitaka merely laughed at that and cut the sword in half with a single blow. His next attack tore the armour off of Isano's left arm. Ashitaka grudgingly admitted that the man was good at dodging, and might even have been able to manage a couple of good attacks had his weapon not been immediately destroyed at the start of the fight. A couple more of the guards tried to intervene, but Ashitaka quickly cut them both in half, but not before Lord Isano managed to retrieve a sword from one of the many dead bodies lying around. Facing off again, Lord Isano jumped back quickly enough that only his chest armour was ripped open. Realizing that his foe was too incredibly deadly to even scratch, Lord Isano decided to do the only thing left available to him.

"I surrender." he said, just in time to stop a swing that would have cleft him in two. "I will withdraw." he continued as the blade of the boy's katana hovered inches from his face.

"I accept your surrender." Ashitaka said, and drew back his swords. He did not sheathe them though. "We'll see what conditions Lady Eboshi demands."

Lord Isano breathed out sharply in relief. The attack on Iron Town might have been a disaster, most of his retinue may have been wiped out, but it could have been much worse. He could have been killed, and then what was to stop this boy and his companions from turning on the rest of the troops, or even striking back at Lord Isano's homelands in order to avenge themselves. All in all, it could have been much worse.

********************************************************************************** 

Lady Eboshi still couldn't believe her luck. Ashitaka had returned just before their food supplies had run out, and had nearly single-handedly defeated Lord Isano's troops. Now they had free and full access to all of Lord Isano's markets, the sole condition that she had added to the surrender, and the promise that Lord Isano would not attack them again unless specifically ordered to do so by the Emperor. Ashitaka himself had promised that he would return in a couple of days to help the people of Iron Town repair the damage that the siege had caused, and then he had run off into the woods with Yakkul. Lady Eboshi looked down at the item in her hand, a stone-headed arrow slightly splattered with blood, and smiled grimly. Ashitaka definitely didn't need a rifle, she reflected.

"That boy's really something, you know that?" a voice behind her said. She turned to see Jigo sitting on a mound of earth, another of Ashitaka's arrows in his hand. "Yep, more than even you realize."

"What are you talking about Jigo? I know that what I have long suspected has just been proven, is there anything else I should know about?"

Jigo chuckled.

"Have you ever heard of the Emishi people? They were a tribe wiped out by the Emperor about five hundred years ago. They used to use stone arrow heads, and would ride great red elk. It's just a funny piece of history, really, nothing important."

"Is that a fact?" she asked.

"Yep." Jigo said. "Interesting, isn't it?"

"You could say that. So he owes no loyalty to the emperor?" she asked, not mentioning Ashitaka's name, but leaving no doubt as to whom she was reffering to.

"Nope. He's not even technically a citizen of the Empire."

"Hmmm. That's oddly comforting. It means that I'll always have at least one way to protect myself from the Emperor, if worst comes to worst."

"Worst comes to worst? You mean to say that you actually believe those rumours that the Emperor is displeased that the fastest-rising noble in his empire is a one-armed woman?"

"He wouldn't admit it, but that's one of the reasons that Lord Isano attacked me. He was trying to curry favour with the emperor. And I need no further proof than the fact that he made sure that he wasn't honour-bound not to attack me if the Emperor so desired it."

"Well, I for one would hate to be caught in a fight with your 'champion' nowadays. I doubt that even the Emperor's own weapons master would last five minutes, and he's reputedly able to dispatch _anyone_ within three strokes."

"Fascinating." Lady Eboshi said calmly. "That would indeed be something to see. Will you be staying with us tonight Jigo? If so, make yourself at home. I think that I'll go and have a chat with my lepers, so I might see you later." And with that, she walked off, leaving one slightly bemused mercenary monk standing in the middle of the street. Jigo turned his attention to the flowers, trees, and other assorted greenery that was scattered throughout the town. It was quite pretty, actually, and a far cry from the bare functionalism of the old Iron Town. _That'll be Ashitaka's influence._ Jigo thought to himself as he smiled. This wasn't such a bad place to crash for a couple of days. He just had to make sure that Ashitaka didn't suddenly come back and rip him into pieces.********************************************************************************** 

Ashitaka and San stood on the Great Forest Spirit's island, watching the great tree. San looked askance at Ashitaka, who shrugged and reached forward, placing his hands squarely on the gnarled bark of the ancient trunk. After a moment's hesitation, San did the same. A warm presence flowed through them, filling them to bursting point with the essence of life. Just when they thought that they would explode, that essence passed through them and coalesced into a glowing mass behind them. They turned and watched it take shape.

When it was finished, the Great Forest Spirit looked up at the two people who it had chosen to be its foremost servants. Then it smiled and trotted away to enjoy the pleasures of its vibrant forest. San happily rested her head on Ashitaka's shoulder.

"He's back." she said happily.

She didn't even seem to mind when Ashitaka's arm snaked around her waist and held her tightly. Life was, she decided, altogether perfect.

  
********************************************************************************** 

**Fin**

********************************************************************************** Comments and suggestions always welcome. [ragnar_murray@hotmail.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:ragnar_murray@hotmail.com



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